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GRADE LEVEL: 5-8

TOPIC/SUBJECT MATTER: Science

TIME ALLOTMENT: 1-2 class periods

OVERVIEW

This lesson uses video segments from the NATURE film “Tall Blondes” to illustrate the effects of wildlife conservation and relocation, using giraffes as an example.  Students will explore the different types of human-animal relationships, and then view video segments which look at human-giraffe relations and the effect to preserve the giraffe population in parts of Africa.  This will be followed by a discussion of human behavior and impact on wildlife populations.  As a culminating activity, students will examine different careers in wildlife conservation.

MEDIA RESOURCES:

VIDEO

Clip 1: “In the Wild”

Introduction to translocation of giraffes.

Clip 2:
“On the Move”

Example of processes of translocation.

Clip 3:

“New Digs”

Giraffes arrive at the game farm and get used to their environment.

Clip 4: “Giraffe Manor”

Giraffe Behavior & human interactions

Access the streaming and downloadable video segments for this lesson at the Video Segments Page.

WEB SITES

NATURE: Tall Blondes: Giraffe Translocation

Background on translocation and an interview with the director of a wildlife relocation firm.

The Game Capture School

Web site for a school located in South Africa dedicated to wildlife conservation and education.

GCC: African Fund for Endangered Wildlife

Organization which concentrates on education school children about conservation efforts.

The Giraffe Manor

Official Web site for the Giraffe Manor hotel & giraffe preserve, as seen in “Tall Blondes.”

Wildlife Translocation Association

Association of companies engaged in the wildlife conservation industry in South Africa

Wildlife Conservation Society

Home of the conservation organization led by the Bronx Zoo.

STANDARDS:

National Science Education Standards, Grades 5-8

Content Standard E

UNDERSTANDINGS ABOUT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Scientific inquiry and technological design have similarities and differences. Scientists propose explanations for questions about the natural world, and engineers propose solutions relating to human problems, needs, and aspirations. Technological solutions are temporary; technologies exist within nature and so they cannot contravene physical or biological principles; technological solutions have side effects; and technologies cost, carry risks, and provide benefits.
• Many different people in different cultures have made and continue to make contributions to science and technology.
• Science and technology are reciprocal. Science helps drive technology, as it addresses questions that demand more sophisticated instruments and provides principles for better instrumentation and technique. Technology is essential to science, because it provides instruments and techniques that enable observations of objects and phenomena that are otherwise unobservable due to factors such as quantity, distance, location, size, and speed. Technology also provides tools for investigations, inquiry, and analysis.
• Perfectly designed solutions do not exist. All technological solutions have trade-offs, such as safety, cost, efficiency, and appearance. Engineers often build in back-up systems to provide safety. Risk is part of living in a highly technological world. Reducing risk often results in new technology.
• Technological designs have constraints. Some constraints are unavoidable, for example, properties of materials, or effects of weather and friction; other constraints limit choices in the design, for example, environmental protection, human safety, and aesthetics.
• Technological solutions have intended benefits and unintended consequences. Some consequences can be predicted, others cannot.

Content Standard F

POPULATIONS, RESOURCES, AND ENVIRONMENTS

• When an area becomes overpopulated, the environment will become degraded due to the increased use of resources.
• Causes of environmental degradation and resource depletion vary from region to region and from country to country.

NATURAL HAZARDS

• Human activities also can induce hazards through resource acquisition, urban growth, land-use decisions, and waste disposal. Such activities can accelerate many natural changes.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN SOCIETY

Science and technology have advanced through contributions of many different people, in different cultures, at different times in history.

Scientists and engineers work in many different settings, including colleges and universities, businesses and industries, specific research institutes, and government agencies.

Science cannot answer all questions and technology cannot solve all human problems or meet all human needs. Students should understand the difference between scientific and other questions. They should appreciate what science and technology can reasonably contribute to society and what they cannot do. For example, new technologies often will decrease some risks and increase others.

MATERIALS

For each group of students:

• Large sheets of paper or posterboard for Introductory Activity

For each student:

• Conservation Strategies Organizer (PDF) (RTF)

OBJECTIVES

Students will be able to:

• Provide examples of human interactions with animals;
• Understand ways in which human behavior affects wild animal populations;
• Detail processes of conservation and translocation;
• Explain the pros and cons of wildlife conservation efforts;
• Identify and describe careers in wildlife conservation.

Before the Lesson/Prep for Teachers

Prior to teaching this lesson, you will need to:

Preview all of the video segments and Web sites used in the lesson.

Download the video clips used in the lesson to your classroom computer, or prepare to watch them using your classroom’s Internet connection.

Bookmark the Web sites used in the lesson on each computer in your classroom. Using a social bookmarking tool such as del.icio.us or diigo (or an online bookmarking utility such as portaportal) will allow you to organize all the links in a central location

Next: Proceed to Activities

Excerpts from the NATURE episode, “Tall Blondes.”

Downloadable QuickTime versions of the video segments:
(Note: To download a video, right click on the video title and click “Save Link As…’ or “Save Target As…”. On a Mac, press the CTRL key and simultaneously click the mouse, then save the link.)

Clip 1: In the Wild

Clip 2: On the Move

Clip 3: New Digs

Clip 4: Giraffe Manor

Moving a giraffe is a tall order. When populations grow too large for the available habitat, or farmers want the animals off their lands, African governments and landowners increasingly seek to move the animals to other, more hospitable, lands. But rounding up and moving a giraffe takes an extraordinary level of skill, planning, and teamwork, as Tall Blondes shows.

Leading these “translocation” efforts are a special, new breed of giraffe wrangler. These men and women — often wildlife biologists or veterinarians — are used to working with wild animals, and are trained in using everything from helicopters and dart guns to special high-rise trucks and sky-scraping movable walls, to corral the stately animals.

While not all roundups follow the same script, one shown on Tall Blondes is typical. The wranglers use small helicopters to spot and then drive the giraffes toward a special, funnel-shaped walled pen made from enormous tarps. As the giraffes travel down the high-walled funnel, the wranglers block the passage behind them by pulling tarps across — much as you might close doors behind you as you walk down a long hallway. Eventually, the giraffes enter a narrow passageway leading to a waiting truck — specially constructed to hold the ultra-tall cargo.

Such tight quarters can be dangerous, since a sharp kick from a large giraffe could easily land a wrangler in the hospital — or even a grave. That’s why some wranglers use special medicated darts to temporarily tranquilize a giraffe if it has to be captured in an area where building a trap might not be possible.

One of this new breed of giraffe wranglers is Petronel Nieuwoudt, Director of Deepgreen Safaris and The Game Capture School, a South African firm that relocates wildlife and sometimes takes paying clients along for the adventure. Nieuwoudt recently answered a few questions for NATURE, just before setting out on an expedition aimed at moving several giraffes.

NATURE: How did you get involved in giraffe translocations?

Petronel Nieuwoudt: I was an officer in the Endangered Species Protection Unit of the South African Police Service, and I decided to start my own company at the end of 1999. The giraffe is absolutely my favorite animal. I was totally hooked after my first experience, capturing a giraffe in the desert. Giraffes are much more than an animal. They show emotion, and once you touch or handle these animals, you fall in love with them. On two ocassions I’ve seen giraffes cry — that was devestating. I am glad we could help them.

NATURE: How many giraffes do you round up in a typical year — and who asks you to move them?

PN: We move more or less 60 animals a year. Normally, it is game farmers who want to buy or sell excess giraffe. [Editor's note: Game farmers raise wild species for tourism, zoos, and recovery efforts.]

NATURE: How much does it cost?

PN: It costs from $400 to $650 dollars — but that doesn’t include the cost of buying the animal.

NATURE: You leave in a few days for a translocation roundup. What’s happening?

PN: We are going to move two giraffe cows. One farmer bought them from another, and we will take care of the capture, transport, and release.

NATURE: Which are easier to roundup — males or females?

PN: It is not really a question of males or females. Generally, smaller, younger animals are easier to handle, transport, and move. The big males and females are really difficult. We will think twice before trying to move a big, dark giraffe male. They are extremely strong animals. You can never underestimate them.

NATURE: Do things ever go wrong?

PN: Sometimes things do go wrong. We are working with wild animals — not trained zoo animals. The vet once darted an animal through the tail and we had to dart it again. Sometimes the animals are not in good [health] and you have to take extra care. Sometimes they lie down in the truck and you have to get them to stand or let them go. I could go on for hours. But if you work with an experienced veterinarian and game capture team you minimize the risks.

NATURE: What do people think of your work?

PN: They think I have the most wonderful work in the whole world. And for me? Every day I am working with these magnificent creatures. I feel like I am doing my bit to save the world. I wish everyone could see and experience the compassion that everyone I work with shows toward these animals.